MEETING OF THE MINDS

On February 24 and 25, around 4,000 geeks gathered in Brussels, Belgium, for the Free and Open source Software Developers European Meeting (FOSDEM).

The FOSDEM conference has a unique position in the European FLOSS world. Geeks from across Europe – and further away – gather for a few days of talking, working on free software technologies, and having a good time (quite often fueled by the beer). FOSDEM is different from most other conferences. You will not find “booths with suits,” commercial talks, or business lounges. You will find a few buildings full of bright people, a great conference program, and a good opportunity to talk to others who are interested in free software. The conference is free; thus, your only expenses are for travel, lodging, and food. This formula clearly works because the number of visitors has increased steadily since the first FOSDEM (then OSDEM) in 2001.

The organizers of the European developer conference, FOSDEM, which is taking place this weekend in Brussels, expect around 4000 attendees. Linux Magazine will be on site and streaming the Open Source event live on the Internet.